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Kangaroo Dreaming: An Australian Wildlife Odyssey

by Edward Kanze

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243943,491 (3.6)None
"Edward Kanze offers a superb chronicle of the nature of Australia in all the meanings of the word. You won't be able to read it without calling your travel agent."- Bill McKibbenOver nine adventurous months, Edward and Debbie Kanze drove an old station wagon 25,000 miles around Australia, spending nearly all that time in places where wildlife abounds.The Kanzes' odyssey began in Melbourne. Soon they were reeling from the cold, rocky mountains of Tasmania (home of the devil, who appears in these pages) via Ayers Rock and the central deserts to the steamy, crocodile-infested estuaries of the Northern Territory. The couple slept on the ground amid the world's most dangerous serpents. They endured the seductive bonhomie of lotos-eating Australians and hob-knobbed with kangaroos, koalas, wombats, platypuses, giant monitor lizards, kookaburras, and more than 400 species of birds. They ran a gauntlet of epic hazards. All these adventures come alive in Kangaroo Dreaming, a humorous walkabout through the flora, fauna, geography, and history of the surreal over-the-rainbow place Australians call "Oz."Never before has an armchair traveler enjoyed such an engaging opportunity to explore the "Downunderworld," a beautiful and sometimes dangerous land where the air is warm, the beer is cold, and the marsupials outnumber humans."Kanze speaks with several voices: that of the professional naturalist full of accurate information and scientific observations; the skilled writer with a grand sense of humor; the storyteller with a sense of drama; and the adult who has the capacity to view the world through the eyes of a curious child."- New Orleans Times-Picayune"Edward Kanze is the John Burroughs of the twenty-first century - except that Mr. Kanze is a better writer. . . . What an amazing continent and what a grand book about it!- Jack Sanders"This deliberate Odyssey is a beautifully written narrative, rich in natural history observation, woven in a marvelous story fresh off Penelope's loom."- Ann Zwinger… (more)
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Showing 3 of 3
Would have made it three and a half, if goodreads allowed. The descriptions of Australia are good and the book benefits from the frequent comments of people like Twain, Huxley, Muir et Al that the author adds.
It is best read with a device at hand, since there are no illustrations and this will whet your appetite for the described Australian animals and scenes.
The only reason I’m not rating it higher is that the author did not endear himself to the reader… or at least not to this reader. He seemed at turns ungrateful, whiny, pretentious ( could have done without the Odyssey frame) judgmental and more than a bit of a mooch.
It is a very difficult thing for a white man to comment on imperialism and the fate of the Aborigines and I don’t quite think this author pulled it off. ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
The author and his wife see over 400 different birds on their journey around the continent of Australia, and each one is detailed in this book. Sound boring? It's not. This book is a great guide to travel across Australia. Not in the "eat here, sleep there, and don't forget to see this sight!", Lonely Planet-type of guide, but in the sense that it tells you what exactly it was like to travel through it. That does include a fair amount of info about Australian wildlife, but written in a totally accessible style. Thanks to the index I've actually been able to use this book to identify plants and animals on my trip. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
This is the sort of book you keep to read a few pages of while the kettle boils, or the website loads or the bath fills with water. A couple of pages of reading about driving the entire way around Australia (avoiding the cities wherever possible) and listing every single animal the author and his wife come across - and those that they don't see as well is about all I could take at a sitting. However, the book has charm. I'm not sure where that charm resides, but I didn't give the book up and now I know if I go to Australia, which I would like to, that I shouldn't bother driving around the perimeter of the island-continent and criss-crossing the mountains and deserts because unless you are a list-keeping naturalist, its a trip that definitely sounds like it lacks charm. ( )
  Petra.Xs | Apr 2, 2013 |
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"Edward Kanze offers a superb chronicle of the nature of Australia in all the meanings of the word. You won't be able to read it without calling your travel agent."- Bill McKibbenOver nine adventurous months, Edward and Debbie Kanze drove an old station wagon 25,000 miles around Australia, spending nearly all that time in places where wildlife abounds.The Kanzes' odyssey began in Melbourne. Soon they were reeling from the cold, rocky mountains of Tasmania (home of the devil, who appears in these pages) via Ayers Rock and the central deserts to the steamy, crocodile-infested estuaries of the Northern Territory. The couple slept on the ground amid the world's most dangerous serpents. They endured the seductive bonhomie of lotos-eating Australians and hob-knobbed with kangaroos, koalas, wombats, platypuses, giant monitor lizards, kookaburras, and more than 400 species of birds. They ran a gauntlet of epic hazards. All these adventures come alive in Kangaroo Dreaming, a humorous walkabout through the flora, fauna, geography, and history of the surreal over-the-rainbow place Australians call "Oz."Never before has an armchair traveler enjoyed such an engaging opportunity to explore the "Downunderworld," a beautiful and sometimes dangerous land where the air is warm, the beer is cold, and the marsupials outnumber humans."Kanze speaks with several voices: that of the professional naturalist full of accurate information and scientific observations; the skilled writer with a grand sense of humor; the storyteller with a sense of drama; and the adult who has the capacity to view the world through the eyes of a curious child."- New Orleans Times-Picayune"Edward Kanze is the John Burroughs of the twenty-first century - except that Mr. Kanze is a better writer. . . . What an amazing continent and what a grand book about it!- Jack Sanders"This deliberate Odyssey is a beautifully written narrative, rich in natural history observation, woven in a marvelous story fresh off Penelope's loom."- Ann Zwinger

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